Gold Loopers at Last!

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Before we actually set off on our Loop adventure from Sturgeon Bay, WI in August 2013 we took several short cruises to get used to our then new to us boat. We travelled across Green Bay to Menominee, MI; north to Escanaba and Fayetteville; and across Lake Michigan to Leland. So we could have crossed our wake in any of those places. Lake conditions were our deciding factor- Our preferred destination of Menominee was a go!

We spent an extra day in St. Ignace waiting for the best weather, then on July 10 cruised about 50 miles to the small isolated Beaver Island near the top of Lake M. We arrived in time for lunch at Delhinney's, a short walk from the marina. We topped off our fuel for tomorrow's trip, noting that diesel here is more expensive than in Canada.

Weather and wave forecasts were spot on. Wednesday's waves were less than .1 meters- it doesn't get much better than that! We untied our lines at 5:20 am to begin our 120 mile trip. We did not see another boat during the first 70 miles. Our tug performed like a champ today and every day on this journey. We actually crossed our wake near Jackson Harbor on Washington Island, but did not touch land there on either end of our Loop. We returned to Menominee, MI around 1:20 pm to officially complete our Loop. We love the marina here- it has the most well-appointed boaters' lounge we encountered, and the rest of the facilities are equally impressive. We immediately felt we were "home." Fellow snowbirds Pappy and June met us at the marina and took us out to dinner and a visit to their lovely northern home.

Our daughter-in-law and her father drove our truck and trailer to us the next day, and we loaded up the boat and headed for our land home.

What a journey! August 2013-July 2018

• 9,826 miles including various side trips
• 190 locks
• 3 boats: Mara Beel I, our 42' Ocean Alexander; Short Vacation (with John and Pam Short) from Deltaville, to Georgetown, VA to take possession of Mara Beel II, and of course Mara Beel II, our 27'  Ranger Tug. The decision to downsize was a long-term plan that happened sooner than anticipated when Mara Beel I sold right off the bat. Its a long story!
• We lost 3 of our parents during the trip, all in their 90's
• 3 grandchildren were born during our trip.
• We gained numerous life-long friends.

Gold Loopers at last!

Mara Beel is for sale!

During the nearly 2,000 miles we covered this summer from the Chesapeake to Michigan, our Ranger Tug (2014, 27' ) performed perfectly, having no issues whatsoever while we pushed her pretty hard for 9 solid weeks. We have not regretted our decision to downsize at all- this boat is a champ! However, we have decided our cruising days are over due to Mark's back problems. The herniated disk he sustained a year ago makes living on a boat less than ideal. We are going to concentrate on being around for our kids and grandkids and enjoying life on the banks of the Mississippi River, rides in our pontoon boat, and wintering in our Florida home where the water is "soft" all year.

We had a wonderful day on the water today! We left Menominee and headed northeast on Green Bay. (Green Bay, an arm of Lake Michigan, is 120 miles long and 10-20 miles wide.)  We encountered submerged fishing nets- this was the scariest part of the trip. The nets are marked by small flags on tiny buoys, and are not easy to spot in the waves. They seem to be placed anywhere. The thought of running over one of those and wrapping it around or props was enough to keep us very alert.


We cruised around the north end of Chambers Island, where we spotted a sailboat stuck on the rocks. We talked to them on the radio, but could not assist them. We rounded the island and continued past several smaller islands, and the villages of Fish Creek and Egg Harbor. The total trip took just under 6 hours and covered about 45 miles, and waves were 2 feet or less.

We are getting comfortable using our new Garmin radar and chart plotter to plan and follow routes. It's so much nicer than the old green radar display. That and the auto pilot are indispensable for open water travel.

We were back in Sturgeon Bay for the 2:30 bridge opening....

and a couple more of those ubiquitous sturgeons.

Patriot sturgeon

Camo sturgeon

After stocking up on groceries, topping off our water tanks, and pumping out the holding tank, we cast off our lines and headed across Green Bay today! It was a gorgeous day to be on the water-sunny and fairly smooth.

Being a river boater, I find it a little disconcerting when I can't see land in front of me. But our chart plotter takes us where we want to go.

We are  now docked in Menominee, Michigan, where we plan to spend a few days. Mark is getting to be such a pro at docking-- a man watching us come in asked if we had both bow and stern thrusters- what a laugh! We don't have any thrusters at all- it's a matter of using the twin engines properly.

Menominee, MI

On Monday we finally made it to Menominee, MI, where we are docked at the Municipal Marina-- a beautiful facility. The crossing of Green Bay was uneventful- there was hardly a ripple in the water.

Aerial view of the Menominee Marina

Mara Beel in the foreground

The boaters lounge

Before we had even signed in with the harbormaster we met Stephen and Charlotte, Loopers from Florida on Jackets II. We later met for docktails and dinner at Table Six, just 2 blocks from the marina. You can follow their travels aboard "Jackets II", their Krogen Express 52 on their blog. We like it here so well we decided to stay another day.

On Tuesday I took advantage of the marina laundry facilities while Mark cleaned the outside of the boat. We did a little shopping and ordered screens for our flybridge from a local lady. Of course we met new friends- Larry and Caryl, who will be starting the Loop next month, their granddaughter Mille and friend Bruce. We all enjoyed docktails and a potluck dinner on their boat, another Ocean Alexander, "Prime Time".

Gorgeous sunrise

Remote controlled sailboat race

We were able to get tickets for the Packers' final exhibition game thanks to Larry and Caryl. Being at Lambeau was a thrill, even though it was 92 degrees at game time. And I thought it was always freezing cold at Packer games. ;-)

Menominee or Bust

Mark confirms our course

Today we cruised across Green Bay to Menominee, MI, the beginning (or end) of the Upper Peninsula. It's only about 18 miles from here, but with a cruising speed of 8-9 miles per hour, it is not a quick trip.  Before we left Sturgeon Bay, we topped off our tanks with 235 gallons of diesel fuel. And I thought our truck had a big tank! The fuel purchase came with a free pump out of our holding (sewage) tank, which eased the pain a miniscule amount.

Anyway, we headed out on the Bay. We used our autopilot, but fought the wind quite a bit. We have an iPad app called iNavX that lets us download charts and plot a course- it's very cool. It also runs on my iPhone, but that display is too small to be useful.

iPad running iNavX

On nautical charts white colored areas are deep water- the darker the blue color on the chart- the shallower the water is. Kinda counter-intuitive in my opinion. Tan areas are land.

Since the ride was bumpy, we each carried a whistle. When one of us went down below  (to check the engines, make lunch, etc.) we blew the whistle to let the person upstairs know that we had not fallen off the boat or anything. You can't always count on hearing a big splash, I guess. Carrying our lunch up top in the rolling seas was a challenge!We also use "marriage savers" which are headsets with mics when we are casting off and coming into the dock to tie up. The nickname is appropriate- we can quietly voice our frustrations to/with each other without screaming at the top of our lungs!

One of our readers asked about my goal of not smashing my head on the door frame when entering the boat this week. Keep your fingers crossed- so far, so good- my head is injury free!